Drive
by ElwayGuy7
Summary: After graduating college, Link Faron starts to see Zelda Harkinian as more than a friend, and the rest of their friends won't let them forget it. The six friends go out dancing one evening, but something happens that will tear them apart or bring them all closer together... T for romantic stuff (kissing, sexual references, nothing graphic) Zelink, Shidna, Daria. Modern Hyrule AU.


**Hello all! ElwayGuy7 here (sorry for the lateness, I kinda forgot about doing this) with my first fanfic! I'm so happy that it finally got published! **

**Anyway, I want to give a HUGE shout-out to Nayru (BlueFrenchHorn97) for being an amazing beta, as well as inspiring me to finally write this! So, if you are about to read this, stop, and go read her work! It's awesome!**

**Are you back? Good. This story was inspired by an 80's song called "Drive" by The Cars, and I feel lyrics add a layer to the story. If you want to find them, just google the song. (Can't put lyrics in story =( ) **

**I hope to update this fairly often, but it won't be as often as I want. (You guys are writers, you know how it goes...)**

**Anyway, I will stop blabbing and leave you to read the first chapter from Link's POV! Enjoy!**

"As Dean of Students here at Castleton University, I congratulate you, the class of 2013, for graduating from this prestigious school!"

As the Dean's monotone speech continues, I glance around, seeing if I recognize anyone nearby. I don't see anyone, and then I remember that the students are seated alphabetically so they can get their degrees in order. I sigh and turn my gaze back to the podium where the Dean is still droning on about scholarship. _Goddesses this is boring..._ I think. _It's so hot in here, and this robe isn't helping._ I glance at my wrist to see how much longer I have to sit there, when I remember that I left it in the dorm. I curse myself silently for my forgetfulness, and look up to find the Dean still going on about one topic or another, going on and on as if just to listen to the sound of his own voice. I sigh again and continue my blank stare straight ahead.

Upon conclusion of the Dean's long-winded speech, all of my fellow graduates and I set our degrees on our chairs as we get to our feet. Then, as one unit, we all throw our caps in the air, which draws thunderous applause from every corner of the auditorium. Every parent, sibling, relative and teacher seems to put their whole heart into every clap, which makes it deafening inside.

Eventually the applause dies down, and the graduating class of 2013 disperses into every available space, looking for friends and relatives to hug and chat with, including me. The first people I look for are my parents. I find them waiting at the end of my row, standing there and looking proud.

"Congratulations! You finally did it!" my mom yells, taking a bit of confetti from her pocket and throwing it in the air.

"Son, you've done a great job, and I know that you are ready to take on the perils of life. You have a job?" my dad asks.

"Yup. Got myself a job at a tech startup, as a programmer. I start in a week!" I say.

"Well, good luck with that. We're going on a cruise next week so we'll be out of town, but I know you can look after yourself. You did just graduate and all... All I can say is congratulations and good luck!" my mom says as she throws her arms around me in a bear hug. My dad joins the group hug, and then they let go, and we part ways, melting into the crowd.

I manage to edge myself into a corner of the auditorium, and in my loudest voice possible, I yell, "Sheik, over here!" I want to get him and his sister Zelda to notice me, but a bewildered Sheik turns around and around, trying to locate the source of his name.

"Over here! In the corner!" I yell, not catching Sheik's attention in the slightest, but I do manage to get through to Zelda, who drags Sheik along with her to the corner where I stand.

"There you are, Link! I was wondering where the voice calling my name came from," Sheik grins sheepishly.

"Uh-huh," Zelda says in sarcastic tone, "Of course. That's why you were looking the wrong direction."

"No worries," I say, trying to quell the sibling squabble. "Where's Midna? And where's Saria? I haven't seen them since we sat down."

"I think that's because our last names are different," Zelda comments. "You wanna go look for them on the other side of the auditorium?"

"Why not?" Sheik and I chorus, and we're off, swimming against the crowd like fish in an attempt to reach the other side. We duck under arms and weave through the mob to get through. When we at last touch the far wall, we hear a female voice call out, "Sheik! Where are you?"

"Midna!" we all exclaim together. We set off in search of the voice, squeezing along the wall to move towards it. After much manoeuvring and wall sliding, we bump into Midna. And, unsurprisingly, Saria stands at her side, the both of them smiling back at us. Someone announces 'Hug-fest!', and I assume it is Sheik by the way my ribcage aches when he releases his grip. After the bone cracking hugs are done, everyone hugs each other for real. Unsurprisingly, Sheik and Midna get very close with their hug.

"Come here, baby!" Midna calls to him as he casually walks toward her. They embrace, showing their true love for each other, and a part of me wonders whether I will ever be in Sheik's place. _Probably not._ I think, and I sigh out loud.

Saria turns to me. "What's wrong, Link? And don't tell me nothing's wrong, because I've heard that sigh before."

I almost say 'nothing' before I catch myself and say, "The ceremony was long, and I'm just a little tired, that's all."

"Well, you'll have to try one of those new Stamina Potion energy drinks if you want to be awake for our celebration!" she replies, giggling.

"Sounds like a good idea," I reply in an almost-yawn. "Speaking of which, where are we having the graduate mini-party?"

"Well, Link's apartment is decent size…" Sheik comments open-endedly.

"I guess I could host if you guys want me to. But it won't be very lively," I say in a despondent tone.

"Nonsense!" Midna exclaims, "We'll host it at our apartment! Now this party will be lively…"

As Midna rambles on about the details of tonight's events, Sheik pulls me to the side and says, "Sorry, I threw you under the bus there, but I really didn't want to host, because it means I have to clean everything…"

"I don't mind, considering that I just dragged you down with me," I reply with a grin.

Sheik tries to find a witty comeback, but his deep thought is interrupted by Zelda. "Are you two lovebirds going to come join the rest of us at Midna's or what?"

"Coming!" we both yell as we dash ahead to catch up with the girls.

"Well, the chips and dip are on the table, the Wii is set up, and the pizza will be here any minute!" Zelda says, exhausted, but still perky.

"Is it a problem if I invite one of my friends?" I ask open-endedly.

"No, that's totally-" Zelda begins to say, but she is cut off by Midna.

"What are we talking about over here?" she asks in a mock sexy voice, running her fingers through my hair.

"How I'm inviting one of my friends over to party with us. And he's a guy," I say, slapping her hand away. I then realize what Midna thought. "No, I don't have any love interests, and I certainly wouldn't invite them to this crazy place on an occasion such as this." I'm pretty sure I hear Zelda sigh, and I'm about to ask what she's thinking about, when the doorbell rings. Midna gets up and runs to answer it.

"Who's there?" she asks.

"Link, it's me, Dark. You probably know me as 'Link's friend' because that's probably how he invited me..." He says in a cocky tone.

Midna looks back at me for confirmation, and I nod that this is my 'friend'. She opens the door, and he strolls in casually holding a stack of pizza boxes.

"I picked these up from the guy; he was on his way up the stairs, so I paid him and told him I'd deliver it," he says, as if it was nothing. Then he spots me, sets the pizzas on the table, and comes over for a hug. "How have you been?" he asks. "Long time, no see, bro!"

"I've been doing well. And you? How's the music producing coming along?" I reply.

"It's been good. Just came out with my first actual album, and it's called 'Dark Tracks'. I brought a copy if you guys were interested in listening, and so you know, I mix house music for a living. I came into town for a job at one of the clubs as a resident DJ, and I needed a place to crash in town, and what do you know, my best friend Link is on the hunt for a roommate!" he says.

"Enough chatter over there. It's time to party!" Midna yells at the top of her lungs as she plays Dark's CD.

At Sheik's insisting, we turn on the Wii and everyone takes turns at Mariokart. Zelda and I are okay at it, Sheik and Dark are masters, and Saria and Midna keep racing for 11th place.

"Yes! Sheik the master strikes again!" Sheik announces triumphantly as he wins yet another race.

"You only won by two hundredths of a second... If it hadn't have been for that shell, I would have won!" Dark laments.

"Come on guys, it's just a game!" Saria reminds them.

"We should play a different game," Midna suggests. "Kiss or dare, anyone?"

"Midna, we're not in high school anymore," Zelda reminds her.

"Fine. Then how about... a drinking game?" Midna suggests.

"We do have a bottle of gold tequila... which one?" Sheik asks.

"Russian Roulette, with liquor instead of a gun, obviously," Midna says. "Do we have apple juice?"

"I think so... I'll go check," Sheik says as he heads to the kitchen.

"How does it work?" Saria asks.

"You get enough shot glasses so that you have one for each player, then you fill all but one with juice. The last one gets some tequila. Then you mix them up, and you take turns drinking a glass. If you get the tequila, then you have to do a dare, and then you are eliminated. The dare is that you have to kiss one of the other players on the lips for 10 seconds. The last two people left win, and then they kiss, too!" Midna replies.

"Sounds fun!" Sheik says.

"Just making sure, but is everyone okay with playing? I'm not going to make you play if you don't want to, but if you play and you don't do the dare, no mercy!"

A chorus of 'Yes!' resounds around the room, except for Dark.

"No thanks," he says, chuckling, "I'll watch this from afar! Besides, someone has to drive all of you drunks home,"

"So Dark isn't playing, anyone else choosing not to join in?" Midna surveys us and finds no response, so she continues. "Then let's get started… Sheik, do you have the stuff?"

"Yup!" he says, walking in with the bottle of gold tequila, a bottle of juice, and 5 shot glasses. He pours out the drinks, then he has Dark mix them up while we all aren't looking.

"Who wants to go first?" Midna asks. When no one volunteers, she decides to go for it. She picks up a glass and downs it, then she starts laughing. "Leave it to me to get the alcohol on the first try... Now, who to choose? This is difficult..." she says as she strokes her imaginary beard in mock contemplation. "Sheik! I choose you!" she exclaims, and then runs into his arms for a kiss. The passion between them is visible as they embrace. I call time after 10 seconds, and they break apart, smiling at each other. Midna goes to sit down, and Sheik removes a glass and refills the empty one with more beer.

"Dark, would you do the honours?" Sheik says as we turn away. He shuffles the glasses again, and we turn around. This time, Saria volunteers to go first.

"Here goes nothing!" she says as she drinks the contents of her chosen glass. The smile on her face tells me immediately that she got juice. Both Zelda and I hesitate, so Sheik goes next. He drinks the shot, and I can tell it was tequila by his forlorn expression.

"Well," Midna says, "You have to pick one of them to kiss..." Sheik decides in a heartbeat that he'll kiss Saria over another man or his sister. They come together for a kiss, and they pull apart when I call time. They both enjoyed it, but they just didn't have the obvious chemistry and passion that Sheik did with Midna.

Sheik refills the empty glass and removes another, bringing the total down to 3.

"All right, this round, both Zelda and Link have to go, because they haven't gone yet!" Midna exclaims.

"If that's the case, then I'll go first. Have you mixed them up yet?" I ask.

"Wait... Okay, you're good. Go ahead and pick your poison!" Sheik calls.

The three glasses sit in a line, and I decide on the one on the left. I hold it up to the light, and then quickly down it. The sweet taste of apple on my tongue tells me that I got juice.

"Apple juice!" I exclaim as I set my shot glass down and move aside.

"Zelda, you're next," Midna proclaims.

"All right, then. Here goes..." She picks up the glass on the far right without any hesitation and drinks it. A smile crosses her face, and I know she got juice too.

"I got juice!" She yells, obviously excited.

Saria takes the shot anyway, and lo and behold, it's beer. She surveys her options for kissing, and picks me probably because I am the only man left. She comes close, and we embrace. The kiss is light and playful, as opposed to passionate, and it's exactly how I picture Saria's personality. We break apart after ten seconds, and she goes and sits with the others.

"We don't need to do this again, because there will always be the same result. But you two still have to give us a kiss..." She says, pointing at us like an old-fashioned matchmaker.

"Go on! Link, no need to be shy about it..." Sheik says.

"I'm going!" I yell at him.

I glance at Zelda's face and realize how beautiful she is. That hits me like a freight train. _Now what? Well, Farore be with me, here goes!_ Without a sound, I move towards Zelda, indicating my intentions with a wink. _Take it slow,_ I think. _No need to ru—whoa!_

Another freight train is right behind the first as Zelda and I begin to kiss. She grabs my hand, and I put my other hand on her neck. Our lips make contact, and my mind is blown. She runs her free hand through my hair, and I pull her closer with my arm. We continue to kiss as our tongues begin to touch. Our embrace could not be tighter, and our passion could not be greater than it is now. Somewhere in the background, I hear Sheik call out 'time', but I ignore it and so does Zelda. She gives no indication of stopping. After another ten seconds of our passionate embrace, I pull away slightly, realizing that everyone in the room is staring at us.

"What?" I say, looking around the room to see a group of giggling faces.

"Oh, it's just that-never mind..." Midna trails off.

"What?" I repeat, sounding even more annoyed than before. Finally, Sheik speaks up.

"We just didn't know you two were, you know, together!" he says.

But we're not together, I think. Sheik is just exaggerating... Or are we together...? "It was just a game..." I say, trying to hide my true feelings, but doing a terrible job of it.

"Really?" Sheik asks in a mocking tone. "It looked like you two were on a one way trip to the bedroom, if you know what I mean..."

"That's what it looked from here!" Midna exclaims in a sports announcer's voice. "All I could see was a clear path to the bed! Score one for Link!" Both Midna and Sheik fall over laughing.

"Come on, guys..." I plead. "Enough with the insults..." I blush as I turn to Zelda.

"I- I'm sorry about this," I say, gesturing to Sheik and Midna rolling around in the floor in a fit of laughter.

"It's not your fault, Link. They're just... a bit immature," Zelda replies, glaring at Sheik in the process.

"You two did look... how shall I put this... into each other while you kissed," Dark observes. "I see a date in your future!"

"Speaking of the future," Saria cuts in, abruptly changing the subject. "Are we going to sort out our arrangements for living together?"

"We can try," Midna says, "But Sheik and I already have a place, so we won't be next door, but we'll definitely visit!"

"Okay, well, that leaves three of us: Link, Saria, and I," Zelda observes.

"Lucky man! Livin' with the ladies!" Sheik jokes.

"Not quite," Dark interjects. "I needed a place to live while I have this gig in the city, so Link told me I could room with him,"

"And that leaves you two ladies to room with each other. The place I found has two apartments for rent, and get this: they're right next to each other, on the same floor and everything!" I finish.

"That sounds great!" Saria exclaims. "Out of curiosity though, where are they?"

"The name of the place is Floria Apartments, and it's on Lake Street near Farore Avenue," I say, reading it right off of the pamphlet I picked up earlier.

"That's funny," Sheik said. "Wasn't our apartment on Farore Avenue?"

"I'm not sure, but I do recognize Lake Street. What's the address?" Midna asks.

"I think its 1616 Lake Street," I reply, glancing at the brochure for reference. "Yup, 1616,"

"Do you remember the address? I think ours is on Lake, but I've forgotten the number... Must be the booze" Midna says jokingly.

"Yeah, I have it on my key ring, because I don't remember it either," Sheik pulls it out of his pocket and hands it to her.

"Ours is 1601 Lake. What a coincidence!" she says, gleeful.

"You guys are right down the street? That's awesome!" Saria exclaims, and we all laugh and chat about how funny it is that we tried to live apart, but we just couldn't. We all decide that if we plan on making any progress moving in to our new homes, that we should get a little sleep before morning. We all hug each other, and Zelda, Saria, Dark, and I make our way down the stairs of the apartment building. We descend the steps in silence, and when we reach the parking lot, we all head to our cars.

"I parked on the other side of the building. I'll see you guys around," Dark says as he turns around, walking towards the far parking lot.

"We're moving in tomorrow, so I'll see you at the new place, bright and early," I reply, giving him a wave as he turns to go.

He turns back and chuckles. "Yeah, I almost forgot,"

He starts walking towards the other lot, and he is about to round the corner when Saria calls after him. "Hey! You should come over more often!"

He stops and faces her. "Thanks for the offer. I think I just might." He winks at her, then turns and gives us a wave over his shoulder. "See you tomorrow, Link,"

"See you later," I reply, waving back. I turn around to see Zelda pulling out of the lot. Neither of us had a drink, so we could drive ourselves home.

As I walk to my beat-up Ford Epona, I hear Saria call my name.

"Hey, Link!" she yells.

"What's up?" I reply, turning back to face her.

"I kinda need a ride... Having had a drink and all," she says.

"Sure! No problem, just get in!" I say, opening the door.

"And what's your friend's name again?" she asks as she gets in.

"Oh. His name is Dark. Dark Faron," I respond.

"Cool! Thanks for that," she says.

"No problem," I say as I get in the driver's seat and start the engine. As I pull my car out of the parking lot, it occurs to me that no matter what happens, the five (or six) of us are truly inseparable.


End file.
